Integrated problem-based learning versus lectures: a path analysis modelling of the relationships between educational...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Environment Studies

Background:

• Student learning approaches are crucial for effective learning.
• Influencing deep learning is complex, even in active learning settings.
• Perception of the educational environment significantly impacts learning approaches, but the interplay is poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationships between students' perception of their educational context and their learning approaches.
• To compare learning approaches in traditional lecture-based, integrated lecture-based, and integrated problem-based learning (PBL) environments.
• To test the hypothesis that PBL and integrated curricula promote deeper learning approaches, mediated by student perception.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to 1394 medical students across three distinct curricula.
• Utilized the Dundee-Ready-Educational-Environment-Measure for perception assessment and the Revised-Study-Process-Questionnaire for learning approaches.
• Path analysis employed to examine direct and mediated relationships between the learning environment, perception, and learning approaches.

Main Results:

• The learning environment influences learning approaches through both direct and perception-mediated pathways.
• Integrated lecture-based curricula showed cumulative positive effects on deeper learning approaches.
• In PBL curricula, direct and mediated paths had opposing effects, resulting in no significant increase in deeper learning approaches compared to lectures.

Conclusions:

• An integrated lecture-based curriculum is as effective as an integrated PBL curriculum in fostering deep learning approaches.
• Curriculum integration is a critical factor in promoting deeper learning, potentially more so than the teaching format (PBL vs. lecture).
• Educational institutions should prioritize curriculum integration to enhance student learning strategies.